We live in a highly visual world, with all indications pointing towards ever-increasing use of digital multimedia as a standard for expressing information and communicating ideas. To adequately prepare students for future learning, visual literacy in design and aesthetic concepts must be included alongside written language and verbal skills. To this end, Guilford Lakes art teacher Joe Bernier was awarded a grant to introduce digital photography to the 331 Guilford Lakes students in grades 1 through 4 through an ongoing series of instructional units. To achieve his goal, the grant supported the purchase of 15 digital cameras.
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Mr. Bernier anticipates some powerful benefits for participants in his program:
- To gain an understanding and appreciation for the power of visual images to communicate ideas
- To explore art and design concepts as they exist in the everyday, in the ordinary and familiar places
- To control, arrange, change and present their original compositions and to share them with others
- To perceive the physical world in an aesthetic way, and to capture these moments of discovery by recording them photographically.
The addition of a digital photography component dovetails perfectly with current technology initiatives supported by the administration. These include the recent placement of 4 imac computers, a digital projector and a Smartboard in the art room, thus making it ideally suited for instruction in, and studio production of, digital media. |
